Sunday, 31 July 2011

Here's a card made by my friend Jenny, who showed it at our recent card making get together. It's a great Punch Art card using Stampin Up's punches. She got the idea from Danni Holland, Stampin Up demonstrator, who shared it on the Demonstrators forum. I think we'll be making this one at our next get-together.

Isn't it cute! The card base is another Side-Step card, which is very popular at the moment.

Saturday, 30 July 2011

Today's card uses the versatile stamp set Just Believe, which has been stamped on to the Concord Crush card stock with Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint. The paint was applied directly to the rubber stamp with a dauber each time. Once dried, I used a white gel pen to add the highlights. A bit of bling (Dazzling Diamonds Glitter) was added to the flowers on the "For You" panel.

Friday, 29 July 2011

This is a fun card for kids' birthdays - and is made with punches. I made this a while ago, but when I found out that this week was the anniversary of the debut of the Sesame Street character, Bert, I thought I would share this card. I'm sure it would be easy to make a punch art card of Bert as well...

Wednesday, 27 July 2011

I thought I would show another card with a flower made using the Two-Step Bird punch. I made this a while ago now, and I think I have shared it previously in my newsletter. I believe the original artist was Ann Fitzgerald.

If you would like to learn how to make this card, and you're in the Marion area, why not book into a class? Email me to let me know if you are interested.

Tuesday, 26 July 2011

Would you believe you could make tulips from the Two-Step Bird Punch? That's what Guest Artist Tamara Conroy has done in this lovely card.

I photographed this in a bit of a rush as she was leaving, so it's not in it's best light. She used 3 of the wing shapes for each flower, and the leaf branch that is also part of the Bird punch. The vase is actually the Christmas Ornament punch with a bit trimmed off the pointy end. Isn't that clever? I also love the panel of embossed foil using the Finial Press embossing folder in the Big Shot machine.

Monday, 25 July 2011

I thought it might be an idea to post a card from one of my stamping friends who I meet with on a monthly basis to share card and other project ideas with. Tamara makes the most gorgeous cards - here is one she brought to show last week:

Isn't this lovely? The birds are punched out with the Two-Step Bird punch, the reeds are from the Inspired by Nature stamp set, and she has used the Top Note die in the Big Shot machine to cut the top panel. Tamara doesn't have a blog (what a shame!) or gallery anywhere, so here is where I'll be showcasing some of her wonderful creations.

Sunday, 24 July 2011

Continuing on with the Christmas theme, here's a way of creating two cards at the same time which are the same, but different. The technique here is called Split Negative, and you need two colours of embossing powder to match 2 colours of card stock.

The Christmas Tree stamp from the Snow Swirled stamp set has been stamped twice with Versamark ink, on Whisper White and Always Artichoke card stock. The image on the white card was embossed with green embossing powder, and the image on the green card was embossed with white embossing powder. Then each image was cut in half and swapped so that you get half green on white and half white on green. The same technique has been used for the greeting, which was then punched with the Large Decorative Label punch.

The card also uses some retired Christmas paper that coordinates well with the Cherry Cobbler red card base. A bit of Whisper White taffeta ribbon finishes off the card.

Saturday, 23 July 2011

No! Why not get a head start on this year's cards and start making a couple per week from now on. That's what I'm doing, so that I'll have enough for my friends and family by the time the silly season comes around.

Today's card is one designed by Heather, and uses the adorable Owl Punch as well as the Christmas Ornament and Scallop Circle punches.

This is a Side-Step card, and the colours used are Real Red, Whisper White and Black. The stamp used on the Christmas Ornament is from the Snow Swirled stamp set, and the greeting is from the Many Merry Messages stamp set. Isn't the little owl cute?

Friday, 22 July 2011

Here's another Twisted Easel card, this time with a single twist, so it's really quick and easy to make. Thanks to Tamara for the design.

The colours used are Old Olive and So Saffron, the butterflies are cut and embossed using the Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, and the stamp is from the 2011 Sale-A-Bration set called Bliss. The lace-like paper ribbon is created using the Eyelet Border punch on a strip of white card, which is then put through the Crimper.

As the Bliss stamp set is retired, I can't order any more, but I do have 2 sets in stock, so if you would like to purchase one, just email me.

Thursday, 21 July 2011

Blender pens can be used to colour stamped images with different mediums, including dye based ink, chalk, watercolour crayons and watercolour pencils. They contain a clear liquid.

When using ink, swipe your stamp pad on a non-porous surface such as a clear plastic stamp case or whatever you have to hand, to leave some of the ink on the slick surface. Pick up some of the ink with your blender pen and add to the stamped image.

When using chalk, pick up the colour straight from the chalk square and apply to your image. The liquid in the blender pen will help set the chalk.

When using crayons, you can either pick up colour from the end of the crayon and apply to your image, or colour in the edges of your image with the crayon and then use the blender pen to drag the colour inwards.

With watercolour pencils, it's easier to colour in the edges of your image with the pencils and then use the blender pen to drag the colour inwards and blend colours together.

Tuesday, 19 July 2011

Today's project is not really a card, but a tag that you put on a wine bottle or similar, when giving a gift. This was given to a friend at her birthday party on the weekend, and she loved it.

I wrote a message on the back. The butterflies are from the Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die. This die cuts out 5 different butterflies and embosses them at the same time. The butterfly stamp is All a Flutter, and the sentiment is from a retired set.

Monday, 18 July 2011

Today's card uses the lovely Vintage Vogue stamp set and the Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel. This is a Shadow Box card, which gives a 3-Dimensional effect and is a bit different from the standard folded card.

I don't usually use the Vintage style in my cards, but I'm happy with how this turned out.

Sunday, 17 July 2011

As promised, here's another easy card using the Versamark Resist or Ghosting technique.

This one uses the All a Flutter stamp from Stampin Up on both the background panel and the feature panel. I used Rose Red ink for the background on the Glossy White card stock and for the Butterfly image on the Whisper White panel. Black Stazon ink was used for the happy birthday sentiment, and Black card stock used for contrast.

I hope this gives you some ideas for cards that don't take a lot of time but are well received.

Saturday, 16 July 2011

Today's card uses a technique called Versamark Resist, or Ghosting. Versamark is a clear ink which is used to give a watermark effect on plain card stock or to apply embossing powder to a stamped image.

To get the ghosting effect you need to stamp your images using Versamark on Glossy White card stock. Here I've used the grass image from the Inspired By Nature stamp set and the butterfly is called All a Flutter. Once you've stamped your images, you colour the Glossy White card stock using dye based ink like Stampin Up's Classic Stamp pads, applying it either with a brayer or cotton ball, which is how I did mine. After applying the colour to the card, just buff the card using either a paper towel or clean cotton ball, to make the white really stand out.

The sentiment is from Sincere Salutations stamp set, stamped onto Whisper White card stock with Old Olive ink. This is then punched out using the Large Oval Punch, and matted onto a piece of Old Olive card stock punched out with the Scallop Oval punch.

Tomorrow I'll show another card using this same technique. It's a quick and easy technique and you can make a card for any occasion using this technique.

Friday, 15 July 2011

Today's card has been made using the Top NoteBigz Die in the Big Shot machine. The patchwork panel is a great way to use up leftover double-sided Designer Series Paper.

The base card is Chocolate Chip, which has been stamped with Versamark using a flower stamp from the Simply Said stamp set, and the "stitching" is actually done with a Chocolate Chip Stampin Up marker. The sentiment comes from that old faithful stamp set, Sincere Salutations.

If you come up with your own design using this idea, I'd love to see it!

Thursday, 14 July 2011

I've seen lots of gorgeous cards using the Elements of Style stamp set, and when we made this lovely card at a recent monthly get-together, I had to get this set for my collection!

It also uses the clock stamp from the Sense of Time stamp set. After the images were stamped and coloured in the card panel was inserted into the Finial Press embossing folder and put through the Big Shot machine. This card also uses the Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die for the little butterflies.

Wednesday, 13 July 2011

What is your "number one" papercrafting question? For example, something you're not sure of about a technique or how to use a product? Post your question in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer it!

Tuesday, 12 July 2011

Today's card uses a technique called Inlaid Embossing, and uses a leaf stamp from the French Foliage stamp set, which is in the current Autumn Winter catalogue, and which finishes at the end of this month. The sentiment is from the Sense of Time stamp set. The embossing folder is Square Lattice.

Monday, 11 July 2011

Today's card is a Double Twisted Easel Card, and it really is not as complicated as it looks. There's even not much stamping on it.

This one uses up some (retired) Designer Series Paper which is double sided. The sentiment is from On Your Birthday stamp set, and the butterfly is created using Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die in the Big Shot die cutting machine. Once the butterflies are cut out with the die they are then embossed using the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and put through the Big Shot machine.

If you would like me to show you how to make these cards, just let me know and I'll run a class on them.

Sunday, 10 July 2011

Today's card is another easel card, this time one that folds down to 6" x 4". This one I call a Triptych easel card as it has 3 panels.

The flower stamps used have been inked directly onto the rubber using Stampin Up's Brush Markers, so as to give the different colours. A Sentiment has been stamped and matted onto Mustard cardstock, and mounted on to the base of the card with Stampin Dimensionals (foam dots) to raise it and thus become the "propping up" mechanism for the card.

Saturday, 9 July 2011

Easel cards are really easy to make, and you can be as simple or as fancy as you like. I've been making a few lately, and will be sharing those with you over the next few days.

Here is the first one I ever made, it folds up to 4" x 4".

I used a pink (now retired) cardstock colour for the base card and Confetti White cardstock panels. These were spritzed using the Spritzer Tool and Stampin Write Markers. The stamp set used was Great Friend, and I stamped the butterfly image 3 times on Whisper White paper using 3 different colours of stamp pads. One of the Flower Designer Brads was used as the "propping up" mechanism.

This card is so easy to make, and great for novice card makers. Tomorrow I'll show another version of the Easel Card.

Thursday, 7 July 2011

Would you believe you could make a cute little hexagon shaped box with the Mini Milk Carton Die from Stampin Up? I like the cute milk cartons you can make, but this is so much fancier. When my Stampin Up friends got together recently to swap ideas and make cards and things, this was one of them.